> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.b2bsignals.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Create and launch a campaign > Start a campaign from a template, a description or blank, pass the launch checks, and launch it now or on a set day. Use this page to go from nothing to a running campaign. You always start with a draft, and a draft sends nothing. ## Create the draft **1. Open the dialog** In **Campaigns**, click **New campaign**. **2. Pick how to start** Choose one of the three options in the table below. **3. Name it, if you like** With a template or **Blank**, you can type a **Name**. It's optional, and you can rename it any time. If you leave it empty, the campaign gets the name shown in the field: the template's name, or "Untitled campaign". **4. Create it** Click **Create draft**. With **Describe it**, click **Ask to build it** instead, which hands your text to [Ask](https://docs.b2bsignals.ai/workspace/ask.md). | Option | What you get | | - | - | | **From a signal template** | Ready-made steps for a reason to write, like a new job or open roles. Up to three are recommended, and **All templates** shows the rest. Each shows its number of steps and days, and the days include the time spent waiting for a reply. | | **Describe it** | Tell Ask who you want to reach and why, in up to 600 characters. It builds the draft for you to check. | | **Blank** | Start empty and add the steps yourself. | Every draft starts with safe settings. You can change them before or after launch. ## Pass the three checks A draft's **Overview** shows **Three checks, then launch**. ![Three checks, then launch: Who, Messages and Sender, all passed, with Defaults below](https://mintcdn.com/b2-b-signals-llc/u5yYe4FZtFc5vtD_/images/campaigns/draft-three-checks.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=u5yYe4FZtFc5vtD_\&q=85\&s=05b5c3346b41e03c550729325d6729e3) A draft's Overview with the skipped people explained and an example invite note. | Check | What it needs | Where to fix it | | - | - | - | | **Who** | People, or a source that will bring them. It shows how many people there are and how many are skipped, with **Why?** for the reasons. A campaign fed by Radar or an agent passes with no people yet. People you added from People with **Add to campaign** count too: with no list behind the campaign, it reads "N people you added from People · they start when you launch". With nobody, it says "No people yet. Add them from People › Ready with Add to campaign." | [Add people](https://docs.b2bsignals.ai/campaigns/add-people.md) | | **Messages** | At least one step, with nothing broken. A new campaign with no steps says "No messages yet. Add a step." rather than showing an error. | **Open steps**, see [Steps and messages](https://docs.b2bsignals.ai/campaigns/steps-and-messages.md) | | **Sender** | A connected account chosen for this campaign. It names only the senders you chose. With none chosen, it says "No sender chosen yet. Pick who the messages come from." A chosen sender that can't send shows a warning, such as "Name is paused. Nothing sends from this account until it is resumed.", with **Resume sender** or **Reconnect LinkedIn**. | **Add a sender** or **Change**, see [Senders and limits](https://docs.b2bsignals.ai/campaigns/senders-and-limits.md) | The same page has a preview card. Choose a person under **Preview as** and click **Write an example** or **Write another**. Nothing is sent or saved. You need a sender first, because previews are written as your sender. If people are missing a field your text uses, you see how many, with **Skip it for them** or **Open steps**. **Defaults** at the bottom lists the settings we picked: approval, stop on reply, one person per company, new people a day, schedule and language. Each one lives in **Settings**. ## What can stop a launch **Launch** stays disabled until the checks have loaded and nothing blocks it. The dialog lists what's wrong under **Not ready yet**, with a **Fix it** link. If the server refuses, you see all the problems at once and an **Open Steps** link. | Problem | How to fix it | | - | - | | No sender connected, or none of the chosen senders is connected | Connect a LinkedIn account, reconnect one, or pick a different sender in **Settings** | | The campaign has no steps yet. The dialog says "Add a first step before launching." | Add a step in **Steps** | | A step is incomplete, such as an empty **Write it myself** step or a branch with nothing after it | Fix it in **Steps**. The message names the step. | | No list is selected, or the list can't be found | Pick a list | | The list isn't fully imported yet | Wait for the import to finish | | A list you leave out no longer exists | Change **Leave out** in **Settings** | | The campaign is archived | **Unarchive** it first | | Your plan doesn't include campaigns | See [Plans](https://docs.b2bsignals.ai/getting-started/plans.md) | Some things warn you and still let you launch: * The list is empty. People you add later join on their own. * A custom column is filled for only some people on the list. The others get the step's backup text, if you set one. * The sender's monthly allowance for invite notes has run out. Invites go without a note until it resets. * No sender is chosen for this campaign, or a chosen sender is paused or needs reconnecting. The launch dialog shows **Launching now would send nothing yet**, with **Add a sender**, **Resume sender** or **Reconnect LinkedIn**. If you launch anyway, the people wait until the sender can send. ## Launch or schedule **1. Open the launch dialog** Click **Launch**, or **Schedule** to pick a start day. **2. Read the summary** It says how many people will start, including people you added to the draft by hand, how many are skipped and why, and how many wait in People › To review until you mark them Good fit. It also says when first messages go out, how many new people start each day and how approval works. **3. Confirm** The button shows the number, for example "Launch for 40 people". After launch, the campaign is **Running**. **Schedule** asks for **Start on**, from tomorrow on. Nobody is written to before that day. What happens after you confirm depends on the campaign's approval setting: | Approval | What happens first | | - | - | | **Every message** | Drafts wait in **Approvals** until you say yes. | | **Once per person** | Each person's messages wait in **Approvals** for one OK. | | **First message only** | Each person's first message waits in **Approvals**. Follow-ups send on their own. | | **Autopilot** | Messages send on their own once you launch. | An invite without a note has nothing to read, so it doesn't wait for approval in **Every message** or **First message only**. The draft's Overview and the launch dialog say "Invites without a note go out without approval." Read more in [Approvals](https://docs.b2bsignals.ai/campaigns/approvals.md). You can pause at any time, and that stops anything not yet sent. ## Set the schedule In **Settings**, under **Schedule**, choose when messages go out: | Field | What it does | | - | - | | Days | The days messages can go out. Pick at least one. | | **From** and **To** | The hours of the day. The window has to end after it starts. | | **Time zone** | Leave it on **Each person's time zone** so nobody gets a message at night, or pick one zone. | | **Start on** | Nothing goes out before this day. | | **End on** | Nothing goes out after this day, and new people are skipped. | If no hours are saved, messages go out Monday to Thursday 09:00 to 18:00 and Friday 09:00 to 13:00, with weekends off. A sender set to pause on weekends stays paused on weekends, even if your schedule includes Saturday. See [Senders and limits](https://docs.b2bsignals.ai/campaigns/senders-and-limits.md). ## Who sends: you or the campaign Most campaigns send for you from a connected LinkedIn account. If your workspace has no connected LinkedIn account when your first campaign is set up, that campaign runs by hand. Each message waits in [Manual sends](https://docs.b2bsignals.ai/campaigns/manual-sends.md) for you to send on LinkedIn and mark as sent. When you connect LinkedIn, the campaign switches to sending for you. People whose message was already waiting for your hand stay by hand. Any other new campaign needs a connected sender to launch. ## Related > [card] [Steps and messages](https://docs.b2bsignals.ai/campaigns/steps-and-messages.md) > > Invites, follow-ups, AI and your own text. > [card] [Add people](https://docs.b2bsignals.ai/campaigns/add-people.md) > > Who gets in and who gets skipped. > [card] [Approvals](https://docs.b2bsignals.ai/campaigns/approvals.md) > > Check messages before they go out. > [card] [Connect LinkedIn](https://docs.b2bsignals.ai/settings/connect-linkedin.md) > > Add an account to send from. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.